TEDx: The Growth of Certainty – Including it All

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other” doesn’t make any sense.

– Rumi

An innocuous email from a technology colleague at my school arrived in my inbox last October. The email informed us of the upcoming TEDxABQ Symposium on “Innovations in Education” and that they were accepting proposals. For those of you who don’t know, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, and their motto is “Ideas Worth Spreading” These ideas are presented through talks that are typically 9-18 minutes long.

For some reason, I dashed off a proposal and didn’t think anything of it. A month or so later, I received a “We’re sorry, but your proposal is rejected” email. Five minutes later I received a second email from a different person saying “Yes. We would like you to be a part of our symposium.” So commenced the wild ride that would unfold over the next seven weeks.

Our first TEDx meeting found 17 speakers gathered around a long table. Immedidately cutting to the heart of the matter, the main TEDxABQ organizer said: “Tell us what your talk is about in one sentence.”

Without further warning, they proceeded to …

To read the rest of this inspiring presentation, go to http://www.taichichih.org/conference_2013).

Practical Trade Tools For Teaching

Summary by KG

“If you charge a fee for T’ai Chi Chih instruction, you are running a small business,” says Lisa Otero, an accredited teacher from Oxnard, California. In her presentation, entitled, “Practice Trade Tools for Teachers,” Lisa gave an overview of legal and professional issues of which small business owners should be aware of, including:

• Obtaining insurance coverage;

• Drafting and using liability waivers;

• Tax and financial record-keeping, whether you are self-employed, an employee of a facility, and/or an independent contractor; and

• Ensuring that the T’ai Chi Chih trademark and copyright are properly utilized and respected. Respecting other people’s original work; and

• Publicity and advertising; respecting your students’ privacy.

In conclusion, Lisa suggested that, in all things, TCC teachers should be guided by teh (inner sincerely). “Assume the best; prepare for the worst. Act with teh. Be upfront; don’t cut corners; take responsibility; give people the info they need so that they can take appropriate responsibility.”

A copy of the handout Lisa prepared is found at http://www.taichichih.org/conference_2013.